Asunder
by RichelleBrinkley
Summary: A collection of unrelated snapshots from the life of a certain bandannaed boy and the two banes of his existence.
1. I - Ascension

**Title: **Asunder [I. Ascension]

**Author: **RichelleBrinkley

**AN: **So, this is my new project. **Asunder **will be a collection of oneshots/drabbles I write revolving primarily around Ryang, Fanta and Yuri. Not all characters will be present in all chapters and chapters will not necessarily be interrelated. Other characters may also make appearances. Ratings, genre and characters for this particular chapter are as listed below.

**Rating: **K+

**Genre: **Romance, angst

**Characters: **Ryang, Fanta

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Faeries' Landing, it is the property of You Hyun.

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**I. Ascension**

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"If I were, hypothetically, to leave you and return to Avalon, would you miss me? Young Master."

"Hypothetically, I wouldn't." But realistically, Ryang would.

Fanta doesn't believe him, of course. "Are you saying that all the time we've spent together has meant nothing to you at all? So if I were to leave, say, you would just move on with your life as if I had never existed?"

"Hypothetically speaking... Yes, I would."

"Well then, Young Master, you should know that I am planning to ascend to Avalon next full moon. Not hypothetically."

Ryang is hit with an overwhelmingly strong sense of déjà vu.

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"You do realise this almost directly parallels my father begging my mother to take him with her to Avalon?"

Ryang jumps slightly in surprise; he hadn't realised that Fanta had noticed him, hidden behind a tree in the clearing of the forest.

Now she turns to look at him, glorious in her otherworldly beauty, and for the first time, he can discern remnants of her mother's coldness in her eyes.

Fanta is leaving, because Fanta doesn't care. She never really did.

And it hurts. He'd loved her, after all.

"I'm not here to beg you to take me with you." Her response is a skeptic stare, and even Ryang admits that he would be unconvinced too, if he were in her position.

"I just want you to know, I'm sorry you ever came into my life. You've caused nothing but trouble, Shorty. And, hypothetically speaking, I will be glad to see you go."

She smiles, but it is the barest upturn of her lips. It doesn't reach her eyes.

"Well then, Young Master, I'll be glad to be gone. Not hypothetically."

The shuttle arrives but she does not turn to it, instead continuing to stare him down, studying him, his reaction. Unsheathing something seemingly from thin air, Ryang registers the silver glint of the blade seconds before he realises what it is.

He panics. "Fanta, no!"

The light breeze that had previously been blowing stills; sounds disappear, and time is frozen as Fanta steadies the blade in one hand, the other moving to grasp gently at the single, delicate string of affinity that Ryang knows connects her to him.

As much as he hates her now, despite what he had said about wanting her gone – he doesn't want to forget about her, not really.

Fanta fingers the string in her hand, intertwining it loosely through her fingers. "If someone were, hypothetically, to cut this string of affinity between us, what do you think would happen, Young Master?"

He is shaking slightly, eyes flickering between the blade positioned so closely to their one connection and the cool indifference of her stare.

"I think that if someone were to hypothetically sever the tie between us, that it would be the biggest mistake of their life."

Fanta scoffs. Then she drops the string of affinity – Ryang lets out a quiet breath of relief – and instead rapidly closes the space between the two of them. Ryang's eyes narrow as he watches her cautiously, but she does nothing but come to a standstill in front of him.

She wets her lips. "Young Master, am I to believe that – despite what you said earlier – you don't want to forget me?" Her voice lowers, "Would you, perhaps, _miss _me?"

The corner of his mouth lifts in an almost-smirk. "Not hypothetically."

She leans in closer, and Ryang only realises that she is hovering about a foot in the air when he is able to look her in the eye without bending his head. Her eyes lock on his, and all at once, Ryang can suddenly feel the tension palpable in the air and the pressure of her brown eyes unyielding on his.

"Ryang," she breaths, and he starts; he is not quite accustomed to her calling him by his first name, "You've never been a good liar."

There is a flash of silver, the bright reflection of the moonlight, but Ryang is too focused on the warm lips that are suddenly pressed against his own to pay it much heed.

Fanta is kissing him, and in a moment of weakness he casts everything out of his mind to just kiss her back, kiss her like he has always wanted to.

It feels… timeless.

By the time Ryang realises the true severity of this observation, it is too late.

Fanta breaks the kiss carelessly, and Ryang barely opens his eyes in time to see her swing the blade in a smooth arc; he watches in seemingly slow-motion as it cuts cleanly through the single string of affinity binding the two of them.

Then there is just a girl, a beautiful one at that, but a girl he does not recognise; she bids him goodbye before disappearing into a shuttle which ascends into the sky.

The last words she says to him are, "Hypothetically, I won't miss you either."

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**AN: ****I'm trying this new thing where I update stories regularly. I don't actually know how regular "regularly" is, but I'm hoping it'll be each fortnight or less. Otherwise, feel free to harass me with PMs and prompts, since I'm aiming for at least ten chapters on this thing.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Much love, **

**RichelleBrinkley xx**


	2. II - Vehement

**Title: **Asunder [II. Vehement]

**Author: **RichelleBrinkley

**AN: **_Vehement_ was a oneshot I started a long time ago, and I've only just now fixed it up and decided to include it as a chapter of _Asunder__. _

This is dark, and has horror-esque elements to it. Probably don't read this if you're sensitive to that sort of thing and whatnot. _Vehement_ has catapulted the rating of this story from K+ to M.

Just a reminder that chapters of this story are not necessarily interrelated, and that ratings, genre, warnings and characters for this particular chapter are as listed below.

**Rating: **Strong T to M

**Genre: **Romance, horror, drama

**Warnings: **How do I put this? Ryang + Yusin + Yuri and her switchblade = Well, horror. Nothing particularly violent or graphic though (ish). But probably sensitive content.

**Characters: **Ryang, Yusin, Yuri

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Faeries' Landing, it is the property of You Hyun.

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**II. Vehement**

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"I have a job for the two of you. A girl I need disposing of."

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There comes a point in time, when finally; finally he cannot take her continued obsession with him anymore, and she simply cannot accept the fact that he doesn't want her back—not ever.

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They come face-to-face two weeks before his eighteenth birthday, in an abandoned warehouse she has her two lackeys kidnap and drag him to.

Ryang is as furious as ever, vehemently refusing her advances for the umpteenth time, and her cold heart cracks just a little bit more at his harsh words.

She implores him, asks and demands it of him—can he not just take her back, give her one more chance?

The answer she gets is hard grey eyes fixed on hers in a disparaging glare, and the sound of her own blood pumping furiously louder and louder in her ears.

She has him hands bound behind his back, shouldered by Koichi and Tsuyoshi. They stand stock still on either of his sides, ready to grab him in case he decides to run.

Yuri herself stands directly in front of Ryang, the same height due to her dangerously-high platform boots. In the pocket of her skirt she can feel the heavy weight of her switchblade, the metal cool against her thigh through the material of her dress.

Oh, and there is someone else too. The whimpering, scruffy brunette of a girl who had actually thought she could stand a chance against Yuri.

Her hands tied behind her back, there is a sickening _crack_ of the girl's kneecaps as she is forced to kneel on the cold concrete of the floor. It is a sound Yuri would relish if she had been less angry.

She reaches into her pocket. Metal doesn't betray you, but people do.

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She has every intention of harming Yusin, of driving the switchblade through her to the hilt. But she doesn't. Ryang—as always—knows how to draw her attention.

"Yuri, if you hurt her in any way, you can kiss your chances of ever getting back together with me goodbye." Yuri turns slowly, the switchblade still dangling almost lazily from one hand, the other ensnaring Yusin's wrist in a white-knuckled grasp.

She does consider it, for a brief second. For the most fleeting of moments, she imagines what it would be like for Ryang to forgive and forget everything, to give her another chance.

But he can't and he won't, and she knows this.

She smiles, a twisted upturn of her lips. Ryang visibly blanches.

"I guess it's alright then. Because Ryang; I never had any chance of getting back together with you."

"Yuri–!"

The blade flicks out in an expert swipe, slicing soundlessly through the air.

Ryang yells. Yuri laughs. Yusin cries out in pain and horror.

"Relax, Ryang, it's only a scratch." Yuri can hear the sounds of the smaller girl sobbing hysterically on the ground.

She turns to Koichi.

"Take her away."

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Yuri lets him go.

Ryang doesn't understand it, can't for the life of him begin to wonder why she would show him any mercy, but she does.

They've been through this before, the two of them. It is an almost age-old dance, one of barely-concealed vehemence and the overwhelming desire for one to get the better of the other.

She waves the switchblade in front of his eyes and it is tantalising, a mesmerising blur of silver and bloodstained red. Ryang's stomach drops and he cannot help but let out a gasp when she reaches both arms behind him, almost hugging him from the front, and the blade disappears behind his back. For a second he thinks she is going to stab him, to twist the blade through his ribs from behind, but he feels nothing but the sawing motion of his rope-bound hands being cut free. How Yuri does it with her eyes never leaving his both frightens and amazes him; not once does he feel the cool metal threaten to pierce his skin.

They are close, the two of them. Close enough that Ryang could count her eyelashes if he wanted to, close enough for him to feel the warmth of her breath against his cheek. Close enough for her to kiss him, if she so felt the desire.

She doesn't.

Ryang releases the breath he had been holding and he gazes at her, eyes trying in vain to read the unreadable.

His hands are now free, and she drops her precious blade to the ground. It falls with an anticlimactic clatter, and Ryang is quick to kick it away. Yuri hisses in anger, but does not say a word.

Ryang's heart is pounding in his chest, a staccato rhythm that does not ease, even with the disappearance of the blade.

There are so many things he needs to know, needs to do. He hasn't a clue where Yusin is, and no idea how badly Yuri has hurt her. Her back had been to him when Yuri had been brandishing that accursed blade.

He really needs to find Yusin.

"Where is she, Yuri? Where's Yu–" She cuts him off with a finger to his lips, and Ryang watches as she abruptly pulls back, stalking away from him with a loud clacking of her boots. His eyes scan the dim warehouse for an escape route, but it is too large and he does not know his way.

Then he realises what Yuri is doing.

In mere seconds she is in front of him again, retrieved blade pressed harshly into his bottom lip, and Ryang feels the skin break and a trickle of blood make its way down his chin.

"Here's how it's going to work. I'm going to give you one more chance; either take me back—and mean it—or I'm going to get Tsuyoshi to drag you back to my place and you can watch your little girlfriend get _murdered_." It is an ultimatum.

"Your choice, Ryang."

He doesn't, _won't_ give in that easily.

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Somehow, he escapes. He kisses Yuri, kisses her hard enough to surprise her, to draw her attention elsewhere for a split second—it is enough for him to knock her blade from her fingers and start running.

Somehow, he makes it out safely, finds a phone box and calls the cops to Yuri's house, before hailing a cab there himself. It's risky, but he needs to see if Yusin is okay.

It is a dire mistake, and years later he is still kicking himself for underestimating her.

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She supposes this was the way things were meant to be—the animosity and the hate. Ryang would never have come back to her, even if she had given him the world.

Her boots crunch on the gravel of the road, and Koichi nods silently to her and jerks his head to the boot of the car he has pulled round.

"Is she still awake?" He nods. "Open it for me, Koichi."

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"Don't worry, I'll get you back to Ryang," The blade flicks open and she slices it through a lock of the girl's hair.

"…Little by little."

Yusin screams.

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He moves addresses, but she always finds him. The mail never fails to come, month after month, after month.

On that one day, two weeks before his eighteenth birthday, Ryang really wishes he hadn't run.

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**AN: The next update should be in a fortnight or less. ****Thanks for reading.**

**Much love, **

**RichelleBrinkley xx**


	3. III - Clockwise

**Title: **Asunder [III. Clockwise]

**Author: **RichelleBrinkley

**AN: **Sorry this is a day late. This is also a drabble, since it's really quite short.

Usual reminder that chapters of this story are not necessarily interrelated, and that ratings, genre and characters for this particular chapter are as listed below.

**Rating: **K+

**Genre**: Romance, humour

**Characters: **Ryang, Fanta

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Faeries' Landing, it is the property of You Hyun.

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**III. Clockwise**

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It's history and fairytales repeating themselves over, and Ryang is kicking himself for not seeing it sooner.

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Ryang has never believed in fate. An intangible thing, a foreign concept – fate and destiny and the like were best left entertained only in wishful thinking, but not the realities of everyday life.

It is only when a girl representing everything that couldn't be true, a girl that had prophecies and magic and power crashed her way unceremoniously into his life that Ryang began to grudgingly admit that yes, maybe there were some things that couldn't be ruled down to simply being of coincidence.

Maybe some things were meant to be.

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"I'm the heavenly maiden. You're the woodcutter. You see?"

"No, I don't. You might be a maiden, but do I look like a woodcutter to you?" Fanta laughs at this, a pretty, amused sound that immediately makes Ryang's eyes flicker to her.

"Think about it. You met me because you helped Goodfellow – the deer – hide from the policemen – the 'hunters'. And you forced me to stay on earth with you because you ripped my dress."

"That part isn't in the story. The woodcutter _stole_ the maiden's dress, he didn't _rip_ it."

Fanta rolls her eyes and nudges him with her elbow. "This is the modern day, Young Master. Alterations have to be made."

Ryang shakes his head, tearing his eyes from her to thumb through the pages of the storybook in front of the two of them. The pictures, bright and exquisitely painted, merge into images of him and Fanta before his eyes.

He scratches his head. Surely it was all a coincidence. There was no such thing as fate.

Reaching the last page, he absentmindedly skims the accompanying text – then does a double-take.

"Hang on. If what you're saying is true–"

"It is."

"–Then does that mean you're going to leave me and I'm going to turn into a rooster?" Fanta starts laughing again, and Ryang turns to look at her exasperatedly. "Shorty, this is all a load of crap. There is no way in hell I'm going to turn into a rooster."

"Maybe not," Fanta concedes, and closes the book with a thud. "But you have to admit, most of the story elements are true."

"Forgive me if I'm right, Shorty, but we have not fallen in love, nor have you bore me any children."

"No?" She has leaned in closer, and Ryang finds his gaze flickering from her eyes, to her nose, to her lips. "I am by no means – or at least to my immediate knowledge – pregnant with your child, but Ryang..." She lowers her eyes, and she is so close to him that her eyelashes brush at his cheeks. With a tilt of her head, Ryang feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as Fanta's lips graze his ear and she leans in to whisper to him:

"Are you not, even in the slightest, in love with me?"

He has to admit; maybe the legend was right in some respects.

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**AN: The next update will be two Sundays from now. Thanks for reading.**

**Much love,**

**RichelleBrinkley xx**


	4. IV - Zenithal

**Title: **Asunder [IV. Zenithal]

**Author: **RichelleBrinkley

**AN: **Here is chapter _IV. Zenithal_, which is quite a bit longer than the first three chapters to make up for it being so late. This is somewhat AU, because Ryang and Fanta are together.

Usual reminder that chapters of this story are not necessarily interrelated, and that ratings, genre and characters for this particular chapter are as listed below.

**Rating: **T

**Genre: **Romance, angst

**Characters: **Ryang, Fanta, Yuri (mentioned), Pain

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Faeries' Landing, it is the property of You Hyun.

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**IV. Zenithal**

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He is sixteen, and she a little over one hundred and seventy.

He is human, mortal, wanted by death and possessor of 107 doomed relationships and counting.

She is magical, a heavenly being; exquisite and powerful in the truest sense, a future Queen in the making.

_"Faeries cannot love humans_", her mother had once told her, eyes cold and lips twisted. "_Humans are the dirt beneath your feet_—_to be with one is a shame above all other."_

That was a long time ago.

In her 172 years, however, the faerie Fanta has never quite come across a human quite like Ryang Jegal.

Ryang is silly, immature and stubborn. He is serious, caring and understanding.

Above all else, he is in love with her.

At only sixteen years of age, Ryang's experience with life was severely limited. _"Humans live only briefly, they don't know as much about life as we do."_

And yet whilst she feels this statement is quite valid in Ryang's case, Fanta still feels like a teenage girl around him, her added years nothing but an insignificant number, irrelevant and trivial.

Ryang makes her feel like any other teenage girl, albeit one very much cared for by him.

_"Humans are deceitful creatures. They will rob you of your dignity and your powers; humans may be infatuated with our beauty, but they do not care for us at heart. All they want is our magic.'"_

Ryang has told her time and time again; all he wants is a normal life. Whilst he doesn't regret the curse because the road to breaking it has brought the two of them so much closer together, all in all, Ryang just wants normality. He wants the curse abolished and he wants magical beings to stop popping in and out of his life (Except her, of course. He adores her too much to ever want her to leave.).

And so they struggle, the two of them, affinity number 108 not quite happening – but when it finally does, they face it together with a sense of zenithal almost-joy, because _this is it, this will be the end, and finally—_finally_—Ryang's abhorrent curse will be broken.__  
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It is not easy, purifying Yuri and subduing her evil force. There is more blood than should be necessary, more tears than Ryang should really cry when the power of the evil force reaches a zenith too great and extinguishes the light that was Yuri's life.

They make it though, the two of them, and in the aftermath, Fanta holds him through the stunned, disbelieving tears that he shamefully sheds over everything—Yuri, the curse, the two long years it took them to break the damn thing.

The day after, he asks Fanta what she is going to do now that her purpose on earth has been fulfilled.

"Why, I'm staying of course," she says, fingers running through the short hair at the nape of his neck, tugging at the ends of his bandanna. "Just because the curse is broken doesn't mean I want to go back to Avalon. You can't get rid of me that easily, Young Master." But just because she wants to stay, doesn't mean that she can.

He kisses her then, in relief and thankfulness, happiness that the sentence above him had finally been lifted. The days following the annulment of his curse, Ryang is ecstatic.

It is all over.

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It is hard not to be with someone for every day for two years and not start to feel the least bit affectionate towards them.

Fanta slips out one evening, the night of the first full moon since the curse is broken, and makes her way to the local bathhouse; the place where it had all started.

The carriage is there, and she discovers it always is every full moon since the abolishment of the curse. It is Avalon calling her back, waiting with baited breath for her return.

She misses Pain and the beauty of the Heavens, but she can never bring herself to get in the carriage. Avalon is not her home anymore—Earth is.

But she knows she cannot stay forever.

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Ryang is up waiting for her one night, when she creeps back in after her monthly trip to the bathhouse.

"Are you going to go back?" he asks tensely, eyes downcast and jaw tight. "I know you've been going to the bathhouse every full moon since my curse was broken."

_"A faerie is a being of the Heavens. They do not belong on Earth."__  
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"I don't want to," she eventually tells Ryang. "I like it here." But she knows he realises that she doesn't say no.

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Things change after that night. Ryang acts like she could leave him at any second; his eyes become more guarded, his kisses more desperate, his embraces reluctant to release her.

He takes her everywhere and anywhere he can think of—mini golf and roller coasters, laser tag and carnivals. Fanta knows he is trying his best to make her want to stay with him on Earth.

And yet every day, the pull from Avalon gets stronger and stronger.

On one of the rare hours she gets alone, Fanta lets her hair loose with trembling fingers, and summons—for the first time since the battle with the evil force—her winged gown.

It has changed. No longer the brilliant, elaborate ball gown with cranes and ruffles and a petticoat, it is now no more than a simple robe with a bland pattern and a sash—something that was appropriate perhaps for a standard gown, one possessed by a new faerie. It is by no means representative of the enormous magical power that Fanta is capable of wielding.

The longer she stays on Earth, the longer she is apart from her winged gown, the more her magic wanes. She loves human life, but Fanta can not quite embrace the concept of becoming completely human.

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Pain comes for her, the eighth full moon since the breaking of the curse.

"Come home, Fanta," he demands, "Avalon is calling you. You cannot stay on Earth forever."

"I want to," she tells him honestly, "I really do—but I cannot leave Ryang."

Pain gives her a look of sympathy, but he is resolute when he tells her, "You must ascend the next full moon. Or Charon will send some faeries to sort out matters for themselves." What he means is that they will take her back by any means necessary.

Before he leaves, Pain presses a package into her hand. "I know you have run out," he says, before bidding her farewell and climbing back into the carriage.

"Use it well."

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She does it the afternoon she is due to leave forever. Finally pushes away her long-gone mother's warnings out of her mind and lets Ryang make love to her, in his bed in the dappled light of the afternoon sun shining through the thick material of the curtains.

She knows he takes this to mean something, and realises that she will be leaving him.

"Ryang," she says, "I love you. And I will always be watching over you." She sheds a tear, but does not let him see.

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Pain's package contains incense, the same incense she had used up all too quickly upon her initial arrival on Earth. Incense that took away one's memories.

"Fanta, what are you doing?" Ryang's voice cracks as he sits upright in bed, eyes following as she rushes nervously around his house, up and down the stairs, from one room to the next. She finds a lighter in the kitchen, an incense holder in the study. With shaking fingers she mounts all 108 (she curses Pain for this—but then again, Ryang did need a lot of incense to forget his entire two years with her) sticks of incense into the holder, although she has to magically expand it to accommodate them all. Then she carries it carefully into Ryang's room.

"Fanta, what are you–" Ryang looks up from shrugging on his jacket to see her place the holder on his desk.

"I'm sorry, Ryang." And she fumbles with the lighter, tears beginning to escape from her eyes.

"Fanta, _no!_"

She cannot get the flame to ignite for more than a brief second. Her fingers grow clumsier and her vision blurs with tears as she struggles to set the incense alight.

The lighter is snatched from her hands, and Fanta turns to find Ryang flicking closed the lid before throwing it out the window of his room. _There went that plan.__  
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Ryang is starting to shout, her mind is a whirring, chaotic mess, and all Fanta really wants is to do this _now_, wipe Ryang's memory before she really starts to break down and cannot bring herself to leave him.

She needs her magic.

Closing her eyes, she summons with all her might her gown, and it comes to her in a dazzling flash of light which illuminates the room and momentarily blinds her.

"I'm sorry," she tells Ryang, "But this is what I have to do." And then she uses her powers to set the incense sticks alight.

As smoke fills the room, she takes one last look at the human boy, the boy she had gotten to know so well in her fleeting time on Earth. He stands glassy eyed and stock still, eyes focused in her direction but not quite on her.

And then she leaves out the window, simple as that.

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The carriage is awaiting when she arrives at the bathhouse, dried tear tracks on her face and a nervous lump in her throat.

Pain greets her from the carriage, embraces her warmly and takes her hand as she steps inside.

"Hello, sister," he says, smiling. "Avalon eagerly awaits your return."

The doors close, the carriage ascends.

Ryang, and Earth, are gone.

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**AN: The next chapter should be posted two Sundays from now. Thanks for reading.**

**Much love,**

**RichelleBrinkley xx**


	5. V - Rivulets

**Title: **Asunder [V. Rivulets]

**Author: **RichelleBrinkley

**AN: **I know its been a while, but I'm still working on this collection story. My sincerest apologies for this strange chapter, I don't know how I ended up writing this. Also, these chapters are definitely not interrelated, otherwise I'd have a big problem on my hands. _  
_

You should recognise the majority of this scene from volume 9, episode 57.

**Rating: **High T

**Genre: **Drama, tragedy

**Warnings: **Yuri and her switchblade strike again. A lot of blood is mentioned.

**Characters: **Ryang, Fanta, Yuri

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Faeries' Landing, it is the property of You Hyun.

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**V. Rivulets**

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"Young Master? Ryang— Oh!" Fanta is flying towards him, hair blowing loose in the wind, eyes large and transfixed upon the dark stain spreading rapidly through the thin material of his T-shirt. "Young Master, what happened?"

Ryang winces as her fingers lift at the hem, revealing the garish, bloody stab wound underneath. Rivulets of blood trickle down his side; they cover her fingers in a sticky coat of sickening red.

Ryang shudders as the sharp pain undulates throughout his body, but he nods to where his attacker is standing, several hundred yards behind Fanta. "Be careful, Shorty. She's got a knife." Yuri stares back at him, face emotionless, fingers gently caressing the handle of her switchblade, whilst blood drips from the tip. Her hands too, are red.

"Yuri!"

Fanta's shout is lost to the wind, but Yuri's seems to hear it nonetheless, and her head snaps to where Fanta is hovering over Ryang, fists clenched and almost vibrating with anger. In fact, Ryang can feel the air around him begin to shudder as Fanta glances back and forth between him and his ex-girlfriend.

Would it be moral to attack a human with magic? Yes; said human was _Yuri_ for Heaven's sake, but she was still a human and unarmed nonetheless.

Fanta sighs and the throbbing energy in the air subsides. Instead she turns her focus back to Ryang, gently laying him down on the grass. Normally, Ryang would protest at this blatant humiliation on his part, but he is in too much agony to care, and he half-heartedly blows his fringe out of his eyes as Fanta's hand hovers over his stomach, unsure of what to do.

"Shorty, can't you heal it with your magic or something? Because I'm telling you if you don't, I'm gonna bloody di—"

Fanta is really panicking now, and she almost wails, "I don't know any healing spells!"

Ryang somehow manages a huff of exasperation through the pain. "Great. Thanks a lot Shorty. Well, it was nice knowing you and all..."

"Ryang..." Yuri is suddenly there, blade still twirling languidly in her fingers, a twisted half-smile on her face. Ryang realises with a sickly feeling that it is a look of satisfaction. Yuri looks like the cat that swallowed the canary.

Fanta's magic comes as a blast of wind; powerful enough to ruffle Ryang's hair and clothes from his position on the ground, but it stops and seemingly dissipates when she directs it at Yuri, who smiles even wider at Fanta's befuddled expression.

"Yuri, what is that around your neck?" Fanta asks, frowning.

"Ugly, isn't it?" Yuri fingers the pendant of roughly-hammered metal. "Your mother made it for me. It protects me from your magic. Well, yours and your brother's magic, to be exact."

Fanta is even more bewildered. "Yuri, why have you been talking to my mother? She's dangerous, and you really shouldn't be—"

"Uh, Shorty?" Ryang cuts in, rubbing a hand tiredly over his eyes, "Can you guys shut up and leave me to die in peace?"

Yuri's hair is suddenly brushing against his cheeks, her face swimming in his field of vision. Ryang can see her hovering inches above him as she examines his pallid complexion and flickering eyelids.

"Shouldn't you be getting your lover-boy to a hospital instead of arguing with me?" She smiles mockingly up at Fanta, fingers deliberately brushing through Ryang's hair. "I think he's looking a bit..._cut up_, if you know what I mean." Her fingers linger on his wound, and Ryang can see the blood on her hands as she pulls them away. It makes him feel nauseous.

"Shorty, get this crazy bitch away from me."

Yuri's switchblade is still in her hand, and she waves it threateningly as Fanta makes to pull her away from Ryang. "Don't you dare touch me," she hisses.

She reluctantly backs away, and Ryang lets out a strangled yelp of surprise as he feels Fanta's magic lift him into the air.

Fanta ignores Yuri. "Come on, Young Master; let's get you to the hospital."

"Are you going to levitate him the entire way?" Yuri calls after them as Fanta makes for the general direction of the town hospital. "Because it might just be me, but I don't think he's quite going to make it."

Sure enough, Fanta looks more closely at Ryang to see he is a definite shade of grey; eyes squeezed shut tightly in pain and body limp, limbs hanging bonelessly in the air.

"He's lost a lot of blood, you know," Yuri says quietly. "He's probably only got a few minutes left."

"Damn it, Yuri!" Fanta can feel the tears beginning to well up in her eyes as she lowers Ryang gently to the ground again, cradling his head in her lap. "Why did you have to do this to him?"

"He wouldn't choose me. I believe there were... _other_ factors standing in the way." Yuri looks pointedly at her.

"But, luckily, your mother did also happen to give me _this_." Yuri pulls out what can only be a heaven peach, and cups it protectively in her hands. "Of course, if you want it, you're going to have to do a little something for me. That is, if you're willing."

Fanta grits her teeth. "What do you want?"

Yuri expression is as cold as ice. "I want you to leave. Go back to Avalon. So Ryang and I can have another chance."

"Not a chance in hell. Young Master still has many evil affinities to be purified." Fanta stomach twists at the thought of leaving Ryang to fend for himself whilst he is still under Medea's curse.

"Well then," Yuri shrugs and turns away, "I guess our poor Ryang has no choice but to die in your arms. Shame, he was so pretty."

Fanta leaps up, fingers ensnaring Yuri's wrist, jerking the girl to her in a less-than-gentle manner. Snarling, Yuri lashes out with her switchblade, and it narrowly misses slicing Fanta's forearm.

"You know I can't leave him Yuri! He'll die without me!"

Yuri smiles again, a cold and slightly bitter upturn of her lips. She slowly casts her eyes over to where Ryang is still sprawled spread-eagled on the ground.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that anymore, actually."

Fanta's head whips round, and Ryang is still and pale and his eyes are unseeing.

"You see, Faerie Fanta; with you, he's already dead."

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**AN: No, Ryang will not be dead in future chapters. Aforementioned, these chapters are not interrelated and do not follow any sort of timeline.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Much love,**

**RichelleBrinkley xx**


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